§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what responsibilities housing associations have to(a) monitor and (b) control antisocial behaviour by tenants in their properties. [175405]
§ Keith HillThe Government do not believe that placing a statutory duty on housing associations to act on antisocial behaviour is the best way forward. To do so would risk the danger of landlords being endlessly caught up in long and expensive court cases to establish whether any action taken by the landlord met the statutory requirement. This would not help in tackling the problem.
The Government have amended the Housing Act 1996, through the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, to place a duty on all social landlords to publish policies and procedures on tackling antisocial behaviour. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is consulting on statutory guidance at the moment; this guidance contains a section on monitoring.